Way to Go! Valley Stream, Harborfields students recognized for PSAs
Tia Walker, a student at Valley Stream South High School. Credit: Valley Stream Central High School District
Two Long Island students have been recognized for videos they created about human population growth.
Tia Walker, a senior at Valley Stream South High School, won the "Best in State" Award in a public service announcement video contest called World of 7 Billion.
The contest, which is a program of the nonprofit Population Connection, asked participants to create 60-second videos on population growth that highlighted one of the following global challenges: promoting environmental justice, strengthening global health or re-imagining industrial systems. More than 2,200 videos were received from 44 countries.
Walker's video, "Kicking the Carbon Habit," focused on the dangers of carbon dioxide.
"While the world will eventually run out of fossil fuels, it is never too early to start making a change," her video concluded.
Anna Paradise, a senior at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, was one of nine high school finalists nationwide in the "promoting environmental justice" category. Her video, "Stop the Mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples," addressed the issue of indigenous peoples being used as scapegoats for environmental issues.
In Nova Scotia, for example, commercial fishermen contend that lobster fishing by indigenous people is "bad for the lobster catch, but there are no environmental effects," she said.
Anna Paradise, a student at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, was a national finalist in a public service announcement video contest called World of 7 Billion. Credit: Harborfields School District
"It's important to have media coverage and talk about these things," Paradise said.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
